


so can we just pretend (that we're not falling)

by steambend



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: 4x05 fix it one shot basically, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fix-It, The Macriley fake marriage we deserved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:47:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23067241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steambend/pseuds/steambend
Summary: Purse in one hand, a shining ring on the other, Riley had a lot of thoughts about this predicament she’d been put in.Now, it was no strange task to be undercover as a couple with your co-worker when you worked for a secret government agency. It wasn’t even uncommon for that co-worker to be Mac. She’d been his fake girlfriend, his fake fiancé, the works.But this time was different, and it was hard to peg exactly why.
Relationships: Riley Davis/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 272





	so can we just pretend (that we're not falling)

**Author's Note:**

> So, 4x05 sucked and I needed to cleanse it from my mind, so I rewrote it.
> 
> This is basically a collection of tropes that we deserved to see, and one half of it is introspective garbage, while the other half is sickly obvious mutual pining.

Purse in one hand, a shining ring on the other, Riley had a lot of thoughts about this predicament she’d been put in.

Now, it was no strange task to be undercover as a couple with your co-worker when you worked for a secret government agency. It wasn’t even uncommon for that co-worker to be Mac. She’d been his fake girlfriend, his fake fiancé, the works.

But this time was different, and it was hard to peg exactly why.

Ever since the rescue mission in Germany, Riley felt like her relationship with Mac had shifted. An uncomfortable weight sat in her chest when he would look at her, and her skin prickled whenever he touched her, both feelings she was unaccustomed to experiencing.

It was funny, because nothing had really changed between them. They still joked with each other, still sound boarded off each other during missions, they still met up weekly for ski ball and pizza like she used to with Jack.

She could tell he felt it too. When he joked, he made sure she was laughing before he laughed. That was new. During missions, he was a little more attentive to her suggestions. Also new. He pointedly avoided topics about them and their new dynamic during their meetups. New, new, new.

Riley wasn’t necessarily opposed to the new. In fact, often it made her feel _good_ , and she could completely forget there was even any change. But that was the worrying part. She couldn’t get comfortable feeling this way, because she knew where it led. Somewhere she didn’t want it to lead.

Especially after what she’d witnessed just minutes ago between Mac and Desi by the roulette table.

She had never seen emotion so blatantly displayed on Desi’s face in all the time she’d been a part of Phoenix. And Mac reacted to it like there was some tether between them he had to abide by. After Mac had explained the significance of Desi’s lucky number 21, Riley couldn’t help the sinking feeling she felt in her gut.

Riley was treading in dangerous waters. There were so many things wrong with how she was feeling.

The first and foremost being she had an attentive, caring, _wonderful_ live-in boyfriend waiting for her to get home. She was content with Aubrey. She had everything she needed with him. He was safe and comforting and he meant time away from the Phoenix life. He was the respite she needed.

She also knew she couldn’t betray Desi that way. Clearly Desi wasn’t over Mac the way she proclaimed she was. Mac was harder to read, especially after what he had told her on their last mission together in Germany. He said Desi wasn’t right for him, but maybe he was just saying that to convince himself of the fact. Doubt creeped into the crevices of Riley’s mind – he really did seem like he meant it – but it was still unfair for her to feel the way she did when they were figuring their relationship out.

And yet, felt she did. She couldn’t suppress it, especially when Mac’s thumb brushed over the back of her hand like it did.

“You okay?”

Warmth blossomed over the contact of their skin, and she cleared her throat, keeping her attention keenly on the game of blackjack in front of her, “Yeah. Of course. Never better.”

Mac frowned but didn’t comment. Instead, he gripped her hand tighter, locking their fingers in what she assumed was meant to be a comforting gesture.

She could hardly breathe, and she flexed her hand to unlatch it from his, opting to use it instead to pick up her champagne glass. Champagne that she would down in five seconds _flat_ if she weren’t on a mission. Instead she tapped along the flute like a lifeline. Anything to distract her from him.

“What’s taking Russ so long? Desi’s been gone for at least ten minutes,” she grumbled, wanting this night to just be over.

She hated how aware she was of Mac’s eyes on her. From her peripheral, Mac looked as if he was trying to solve an impossible problem, and she’d be damned if that wasn’t exactly what this situation was. Why was it so hard to repress a feeling once it had been unleashed?

“Excuse me?” a feminine voice piped up from the other side of Riley.

Startled, Riley snapped her eyes to a young woman in a low-cut dress, a bubbly smile adorning her lips. “I’m so sorry, but your _ring_! It’s _so_ stunning, I just _had_ to say something.”

“Oh,” Riley had to process the words for a moment, before belatedly recalling that she was on a mission undercover as Mac’s wife, “Thank you. I’m a sucker for diamonds, so of course he picked the most sparkly jewel in the store. He knows me too well.”

Smiling sweetly, Riley leaned back against Mac, her shoulder just touching his chest. Goosebumps rose at the contact, but she forced herself not to pull away. She thought her chest was going to combust when she felt a warm pair of lips press against her shoulder. This day was working against her, and she honestly didn’t know whether she would survive.

The woman flashed a smile, shoving her ring finger into Riley’s field of view, “That is just so sweet. My Stevie is the same! Are you newlyweds too? I’m Savannah, by the way.”

Trying to uphold the level of brightness Savannah was outputting while not losing her damn mind at the feeling of Mac’s hand rubbing slow circles into her hip was proving to be particularly difficult. Riley hoped her grin didn’t look too much like a wince as Mac spoke, hot breath fanning against her ear, “I’m Mac, this is Riley, and this is actually our honeymoon.”

“Well, you guys are one stunning couple! Oh, Stevie over there is waving me over,” she pointed to a man by the roulette table, sighing lovingly, “I better get going. Sorry for interrupting you two lovebirds!”

“Nice to meet you,” Riley hoped the champagne glass wouldn’t shatter beneath her grip.

She waited until the woman had well and truly lost interest in them before moving away from Mac. Clearing her throat, she muttered under her breath to him, “Sorry about that.”

Mac looked like he was about to reply when Russ could be heard through their comms, “I’ve sent Desi’s location to you, Riley. She’s with the Merchant, now’s our chance to round him up. Chop, chop.”

Thanking the universe for the distraction, Riley pulled out her phone and began to direct the both of them upstairs. Mac still looked as if he wanted to say something, but Riley kept her focus on her screen, not ready for a conversation.

“Hey,” Mac gently touched her elbow, causing her to freeze in place.

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have to say sorry for playing your part,” Mac worriedly look over her, “Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“ _No_ ,” Riley rushed to assure him. The last thing she wanted was for Mac to think he’d done something wrong. That would lead to questions. Questions were something she was not ready to answer. “No, not at all. I don’t know, I guess it’s been a while since I’ve had an undercover op. Got to get my mojo back.”

The edges of Mac’s lips lifted in a small smile, and he noticeably swallowed before saying, “Well, you were very convincing. Nothing to worry about.”

Dropping his gaze to stare at her phone, she analysed what he had just said. Was he suspecting these _feelings_ she was feeling? When Savannah spoke to them, Riley had barely said or done anything; Mac did all the convincing. Were her emotions that plainly written on her face?

Steps and muffled talking were heard down the hall, and both of them caught the other’s gaze in alarm. They were in an open hall, there were no rooms to duck into and nothing to hide behind. Riley knew they had to think of something, and _fast_.

Her mouth sandpaper, she spoke in a panicked whisper, “Mac, think of something!”

“I–” the words died on his mouth as he looked at her with an expression she couldn’t read. Licking his lips (sexily she might add, but it was such bad timing to think so), he whispered back, “I’m sorry in advance.”

Before she had time to figure out what that meant, she’d been pressed against the wall and Mac’s mouth was on hers. Her entire body was in flames as it went slack with shock. All he did was press his mouth to hers, allowing her to make the next move.

She should’ve pushed him away. She really should’ve. But then they would’ve been caught sneaking around. It _was_ a good distraction. But who was she kidding?

She gripped the lapels of his jacket and kissed back, ignoring the alarm bells in her mind until she couldn’t hear them at all. A muffled sound of surprise left Mac’s lips before he deepened the kiss, pressing her further into the wall.

All she could feel and think about were Mac’s shoulders, his neck, his hair as her hands travelled up from his chest, and _oh_ – his lips which were _sucking_ and _biting_ hers, and she had forgotten entirely what anything else felt like. She thought she might collapse if it weren’t for Mac’s arms tightening around her waist.

And then a disgusted, “Hey! You two!”

They wrenched apart from each other, lips swollen and well kissed and Riley thought she’d never been more attracted to a man in her life. But she had to focus, because right then a guard was looking at the two of them as if he couldn’t believe this was something his job entailed.

“We have rooms available for this exact purpose,” the worker informed them as if he was reading from a script, “Please don’t disturb the other clients. Get out of here.”

Shaking his head, the guard walked away without even checking to see which way the two would go next.

Hardly knowing what to say, and more than a little out of breath, Riley said, “Well, that worked.”

She didn’t know what to make of Mac’s flushed cheeks or dilated pupils, but she knew the sight could quite possibly send her into cardiac arrest if he didn’t refocus his attention away from her. Lifting his thumb to her bottom lip and swiping, he whispered, “Your lipstick is smudged.”

Still buzzing with heat, Riley couldn’t help the short gasp that left her lips, and she silently relished in the smug smirk Mac was sporting. Until what he had done dawned on him and his eyes popped from their sockets in remorse. “Oh my god, Riley, I am _so_ sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking, I–”

“Whatever you were thinking,” Russ commented over the comms, an amused lilt to his voice, “It’s going to have to wait. Desi is still with the Merchant, without comms. In case we forgot amidst all these…distractions.”

Dread filled Riley’s stomach. Oh, yeah. _Desi_.

But then she saw Mac huff out a laugh, cheeks still tinged pink and eyes soft as he glanced at her and replied, “Yeah, yeah. Call it want you want.”

And a bit of hope grew within Riley too.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow my socials if you're so inclined:
> 
> \- twitter @thorsthirl  
> \- tumblr @steambend


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